The UK-based capital venture business has said alongside Shell Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures and Evonik Venture Capital, it closed a funding round for Strohm totalling £11.8m ($14.29m).

With a second funding close expected, HydrogenOne has said it may invest a further £1.7m ($2.05m), with the round anticipated to be at least £5.1m ($6.17m). H2 View understands, following the investment, HydrogenOne will have the right to board a seat at Strohm.

It is expected that Strohm will use the funding to scale up its plant capacity in the Netherlands to delivery on its energy agenda to meet its Net Zero goals with its innovative Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP).

Martin van Onna, Managing Director of Strohm said, “The investment by HydrogenOne allows us to increase our capacity to service this exciting and growing market.”

Strohm’s technology is believed to be well suited to transport hydrogen from offshore production sites due to its corrosion and fatigue-resistance. In May (2022), Strohm and Lhyfe announced a collaboration to establish an offshire, floating wind turbine with an integrated hydrogen production system, which would see the TCP technology deployed.

Read more: Plans launched for €60m floating wind turbine and hydrogen production system

Van Onna, explained, “We recognised the fit between clean hydrogen and offshore wind at an early stage, and developed a compelling pipe solution to support it.

“TCP can transfer up to nine times the amount of energy compared to a cable, and can be used to store hydrogen, thereby increasing the uptime of offshore wind farms. The pipe’s flexibility, lack of corrosion, fatigue and embrittlement make it the superior pipeline solution for offshore wind farms, generating hydrogen.”

Commenting on the investment, Simon Hogan, Chairman of HydrogenOne, said, “We continue to demonstrate the impressive pace and quality of our capital deployment through this latest investment in Strohm. This is our ninth private investment since the launch of our clean hydrogen-focused fund and an excellent addition to our growing portfolio.

“Strohm’s core commitment to a sustainable future, through reduction of the carbon footprint of pipelines around the globe and provision of solutions for clean hydrogen applications, is one we support. We look forward to working with Strohm’s management team as it scales up to meet the growing demand for hydrogen as an energy source.”

Peter van Giessel, Partner at Shell Ventures, added, “We are looking forward to working with HydrogenOne to further realise the potential of Strohm. The company has qualified its products, commercially deployed them in various applications across the world and has now reached the inflection point.

“This investment underlines the versatility of Strohm’s technology and its potential to play an important enabling role in the offshore renewable space.”

Newsletters

At H2 View, we know just how much hydrogen news there is to keep on top of. That’s exactly why we’ve launched a brand new daily newsletter that will send you the top five stories every day, straight to your inbox.

Don’t forget we also have our weekly newsletter which includes a round-up of the past seven days’ hydrogen highlights, including not only news but also interviews, features and analysis.

Sign up for our newsletters.